Hyderabad: Several villages in Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district of Telangana are gripped in fear following the killing of a 21-year-old woman in an attack by a tiger on Friday.
The incident that took place in the Gannaram area of Kagaznagar Mandal raised concerns that the big cats might have migrated from the neighbouring state of Maharashtra due to the loss of their habitat. The situation has now forced people to suspend harvesting of the cotton crop in their agricultural fields. They have also stopped going to forest areas.
According to locals, the deceased Morle Lakshmi of Gannaram village, along with six other women, had gone to pick cotton in the field on the outskirts of Nazrul Nagar village of the same Mandal on Friday morning.
“After working there for a while, the tiger attacked Lakshmi and took her away. Other women and the eyewitnesses working there screamed, which panicked the tiger, and it left her but not before seriously injuring her,” said an eyewitness.
Locals rushed Lakshmi to a private hospital in Kagaznagar, but she succumbed to injuries on the way.
Meanwhile, the family members and villagers staged a dharna outside the Kagaznagar Forest Department divisional office with Lakshmi’s body to protest against the alleged negligence of forest department officials.
The family alleged that the forest officials ignored the information about the presence of tigers in the area. They demanded that the officials responsible for the negligence be suspended.
SP Srinivasa Rao and CF Santaram reached the spot and spoke to the family members of the deceased. He promised financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh, five acres of land, and a job to one family member.
“The attack on the woman, who was bitten on the neck and dragged away, suggests that the tiger may be accustomed to human prey,” said a senior official.
He said the incident is the fourth tiger-related fatality in Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district in four years.
The area where the incident occurred is just 20 km from the Maharashtra border and has reported several such attacks in the recent past.
The forest department claimed to have started tracking and monitoring the tiger. It also urged villagers to stay indoors and alert officials in case of sightings immediately.
The forest department has set up cameras and is analysing footprints to identify the tiger. "Our cameras haven't captured its image, but we've identified its footprints. The tiger could be a transient one from Maharashtra,” said Asifabad DFO Neeraj Kumar.
Meanwhile, in a chilling repeat incident, a tiger attacked a farmer in Dubbaguda, Sirpur, Kumuram Bheem district on Saturday. The farmer, identified as Suresh, was working in his field when the tiger pounced. Locals rushed to his aid, shouting to scare off the tiger, which fled into the forest. Suresh sustained injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The repeated attacks sparked widespread fear among residents in the area. The forest department has launched an intensified search operation to track the tiger, deploying drones in the Vempally forest section of Kagaznagar mandal.
Authorities are urging locals to exercise caution while venturing nearby forest areas. Meanwhile, efforts are underway to ensure the safety of both residents and wildlife in this conflict zone.
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